santa clarita

(Update 4th November 2011.  We were very sorry to hear of Alan’s death earlier today.  A fantastic guy and unmatched friend of gibbons.  Rest in peace Alan.)

What better way to spend Christmas than in the company of your favourite gibbons?   That’s exactly what my wife Erin and I did on the 26th December 2008, when we made our second visit to the Gibbon Conservation Center at Santa Clarita, California – home to some of the world’s rarest gibbons.

As well as catching up with gibbon families we first encountered in September, and described in this earlier post,  I made some sound recordings during this visit, including an extended interview with the Founder and Director of the Center, Alan Mootnick.

I’m sure  a lot of what Alan has to say about working on conservation with the various institutes, authorities and peoples around the world, and particularly in Asia, is relevant to species beyond the gibbon.

So what follows is the edited audio from the visit, in seven parts, in mp3 format, that I originally published at conservationtoday.org.  Each part lasts between 3 and 10 minutes, and you should be able to download or stream by either left clicking the link or right clicking and entering ‘save as’.  I earlier posted the entire interview as one edit, and that is also included at the end.

All visitors shoes are disinfected on arrival

Part 1 is our arrival, including an early morning walk round the facility and ending in a noisy chorus.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart1.mp3[/podcast]*********

Alan Mootnick speaking at a fundraising event

Part 2 is the beginning of the interview with Alan where he introduces the aims of the Center, the various gibbon genera and species, and includes a somewhat disturbing account of threats gibbons in the wild are facing (which as usual are mainly man-made).

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart2.mp3[/podcast]*********

Part 3 describes the breeding programme and special efforts for the Javan gibbon – of which only 4000 remain in the wild, the Center’s collaboration with zoos – including in the UK, and the challenges of finding gibbons for study in the wild.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart3.mp3[/podcast]*********

Part 4 in which Alan majors on the genetics of the gibbon, gibbon taxonomy, and a showcase of mistaken identity.  Also the challenges of moving gibbons and their DNA around the world, and the role  of faeces in working out bloodlines.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart4.mp3[/podcast]*********

Part 5 is all about gibbon behaviour, including apparent similarities with man, and discussion around gibbon song and brachiation (swinging arm to arm).  The highlight is Alan’s empirically supported theory of hostile genital or anal presenting – ‘gibbon mooning’ in other words.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart5.mp3[/podcast]*********

Part 6 describes the volunteer programme, including the possibility of joining the Center from the UK.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart6.mp3[/podcast]*********

Part 7 discusses issues around land management and deforestation in Indonesia, the illegal trade in gibbons, and the impact that’s having on the gibbon population.  Also some tips on how to work to best effect when dealing with zoos in Asia.

*********[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/mootnickjonespart7.mp3[/podcast]*********

And this is the entire interview as a single edit:

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[podcast]http://communicatescience.com/SOUND/Gibbon Centre Tim Jones Alan Mootnick Final Whole A.mp3[/podcast]

60Mb. Approx. 1 hour. Copyright, all rights reserved, 2009, Tim Jones  communicatescience.com

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